The Act 43 Geo 3 c 56, sometimes called the Passenger Vessels Act 1803 or the Passenger Act 1803, was an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed in 1803. It was the first of many laws intended to regulate the transportation of
immigrants and to protect
emigrants on board ships from exploitation by transportation companies (such as exorbitant rates and consequent subjection to poor sanitary conditions). The Passenger Act required improved conditions relating to hygiene, food and comfort for passengers travelling to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. However, this law was not always followed by transportation providers and the spread of
infectious diseases such as
typhus continued.
This Act was established under humanitarian pretences, but the more practical and desired effect was to raise the cost of passage to prevent as many as possible from leaving. Landlords who feared the emigration of their tenants lobbied extensively for this piece of legislation, and where one could previously travel to
Canada for £3–4,
[Approximately £200 in 2001 pounds, according to the price indices in House of Commons Research Paper 02/44, , 11 July 2002] the price for the same passage was in some cases raised to £10 or more (). The ability to move abroad was subsequently limited to a small class of people until it was repealed in 1826.
Notes and references
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United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1803
Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament
Maritime history of the United Kingdom
History of immigration to the United Kingdom
British emigrants
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